CubCrafters CC18-180 N162WR

Summary

On 5 June 2015 at about 12:28 local time, a CubCrafters CC18-180 registered N162WR, operated by Usda-Aphis-Ws, was involved in an accident near Raton, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 June 2015 at 12:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Raton, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

36.7164, -104.1333

Aircraft

CubCrafters CC18-180

Registration

N162WR

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Usda-Aphis-Ws

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Raton → Raton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15FA255

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane, which was being operated as a public aircraft, departed with the pilot and a gunner on board for the local flight. The purpose of the flight was to locate and kill coyotes in a geographical area with a history of livestock damage. According to the ground-based spotter, the pilot established radio contact with him after the airplane passed over the mesa that bordered the western edge of the target area. The pilot transmitted that he had observed a coyote behind the spotter's position and that they were going to perform a low-altitude pass for the gunner to kill the coyote. The spotter turned around and located the coyote using his binoculars. He reported that he heard 2 to 3 shotgun blasts as the airplane passed through his field of view on a northeast heading. He remained focused on the coyote as the airplane exited his field of view, and, shortly thereafter, he heard it impact the ground. A review of recovered GPS data indicated that the airplane descended to about 41 ft above the ground and then entered a climbing left turn. The airplane's calculated groundspeed decreased from 77 mph to 55 mph during the climbing left turn. According to the airplane flight manual, the wings-level aerodynamic stall speed was 52 mph with the flaps retracted; however, the stall speed increased to 56 mph when the airplane was in a coordinated 30° banked turn and 74 mph when the airplane was in a coordinated 60° banked turn. A postaccident examination established that the airplane had crashed in a nose-low, near-vertical attitude. Based on the GPS data and the near-vertical impact angle, the pilot likely did not maintain adequate airspeed during the climbing left turn, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude. The postaccident wreckage examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane during the flight. Although postaccident toxicological testing of the pilot identified three over-the-counter sedating antihistamines, the lack of available blood for testing prevented a determination as to whether they affected the pilot's psychomotor or cognitive functioning during the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.